1987 San Marino Grand Prix
3 May |number = 438 |officialname = VII Coca Cola Gran Premio di San Marino |circuit = Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari Autodromo Dino Ferrari |location = Imola, Emilia-Romagna, Italy |circuittype = Permanent Racing Facility |lapdistance = 5.040 |laps = 59 |distance = 297.360 |pole = Ayrton Senna |polenation = BRA-1968 |poleteam = |poletime = 1:25.826 |fastestlap = 1:29.246 |fastestlapdriver = Teo Fabi |fastestlapnation = ITA |fastestlapteam = |fastestlapnumber = 51 |winner = Nigel Mansell |winnernation = GBR |winnerteam = |second = Ayrton Senna |secondnation = BRA-1968 |secondteam = |third = Michele Alboreto |thirdnation = ITA |thirdteam = |scheduledlaps = 60 }} The VII Coca Cola Gran Premio di San Marino, otherwise known as the 1987 San Marino Grand Prix, was the second round of the FIA Formula One World Championship, staged at the Autodromo Dino Ferrari in Imola, Italy, on the 3 May 1987.>'San Marino GP, 1987', grandprix.com, (Inside F1 Inc., 2014), http://www.grandprix.com/gpe/rr438.html, (Accessed 01/04/2019) The race would see Nigel Mansell sweep to his first victory of the season, after a heavy accident for teammate Nelson Piquet marred 's entire weekend. The Brazilian's accident came during the opening qualifying session of the weekend, where his Williams-Honda was pitched straight into the wall at Tamburello after a tyre failure. Piquet was quickly extracted from the cockpit and checked over by FIA Medical Delegate Sid Watkins, who subsequently declared that the Brazilian was unfit to continue competing for the rest of the weekend. Williams took time to analyse the wreckage, but could not conclude whether the tyre had failed on its own, while Goodyear decided to ship a whole new batch of tyres from England to Imola. Regardless, the team opted to continue competing with Mansell, who would claim second on the grid during Saturday's qualifying session as Ayrton Senna swept to pole for . Senna would take the lead from Mansell at the start of the race, while Teo Fabi got the jump on Championship leader Alain Prost for third. The rest of the field made it off the line without issue, although René Arnoux was a late non-starter after a suspension failure. Senna's lead lasted until the midway point on the second lap, with Mansell barging his way through at Tosa. The Brit duly sprinted clear to leave Senna at the mercy of Prost, who would also sweep past the Lotus-Honda on lap six after dealing with Fabi. Prost subsequently managed to catch Mansell, although before he could launch an attack his ground to a halt after an alternator failure. That promoted Michele Alboreto into second, the Italian having just passed Senna, while Riccardo Patrese had shuffled through to a comfortable fourth in the . Mansell would stop early for fresh tyres, but still emerged in the lead of the race. Alboreto and Senna, meanwhile, would suffer slow stops to allow Patrese into second, with the Italian looking set for the position until he was told to conserve fuel late in the race. With that the race was run, with Mansell cruising home to claim victory half a minute clear of Senna and Alboreto, the Brazilian able to jump ahead of the Italian when the lost boost pressure. Stefan Johansson, meanwhile, would claim fourth ahead of Martin Brundle and Satoru Nakajima, while Philippe Streiff claimed the honours in the Jim Clark Trophy. The results of the race meant that Mansell moved to the top of the Championship, one point clear of Prost. Williams-Honda, meanwhile, would draw level with McLaren-TAG Porsche in the Constructors' Championship, and were deemed ahead on count-back. Background Victory at the opening round had ensured that Alain Prost opened his title defence in perfect fashion, leaving Brazil with nine points to his name. Nelson Piquet was next ahead of Stefan Johansson, while Gerhard Berger, Thierry Boutsen and Nigel Mansell had also registered points at the opening round. arrived in Italy in command of the Constructors' Championship, with Prost and Johansson scoring a combined total of thirteen points in Brazil. were next, having secured seven points at the opening race, while and were the only other scorers. Elsewhere, Jonathan Palmer had been the inaugural winner in the Jim Clark Trophy in Brazil, earning him nine points and the lead in the cup. His teammate Philippe Streiff was next, meaning their team led the Colin Chapman Trophy after the opening round, while Pascal Fabre and were the only other scorers in Rio. Entry list The full entry list for the is outlined below: * Entries with a white background denote eligibility for the Jim Clark Trophy and Colin Chapman Trophy. Practice Overview Qualifying Friday Qualifying Saturday Qualifying Qualifying Results The full qualifying results for the are outlined below: * A white background indicates an entrant in the Jim Clark Trophy. *T Indicates a driver used their test/spare car to set their best time in that session. *'Bold' indicates a driver's best/qualifying time. ** Piquet would not take part in the rest of the race weekend after his accident on Friday. Grid ** Nakajima would start the race from the pit lane after a battery change. *† Arnoux was unable to start the race after a suspension failure. Race Report Results The full results for the are outlined below: * A white background indicates an entrant in the Jim Clark Trophy with numbers in brackets indicating their finishing position in that class. *T Indicates a driver used their test/spare car. ** Nakajima, Warwick and Caffi were all still classified despite retiring as they had completed 90% of the race distance. *† Arnoux was unable to start the race after a suspension failure. *‡ Piquet was unable to start the race after an accident during qualifying. Milestones * 500th entry for a constructed chassis.'1987 San Marino GP', chicanef1.com, (Chicane F1, 2014), http://www.chicanef1.com/racetit.pl?year=1987&gp=San%20Marino%20GP&r=1, (Accessed 01/04/2019) * Teo Fabi started his 50th Grand Prix.'2. San Marino 1987', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2014), https://www.statsf1.com/en/1987/saint-marin.aspx, (Accessed 01/04/2019) * Twentieth entry for Christian Danner. * Gabriele Tarquini made his Grand Prix debut. * Ayrton Senna recorded the 107th and final pole position for as a constructor. ** Also the tenth pole for a engine. * Eighth career victory for Nigel Mansell. * secured their 32nd win as a constructor. ** Honda scored their seventeenth victory. * Maiden points finish for Satoru Nakajima. * Fabi recorded his second and final fastest lap. Standings Victory would propel Nigel Mansell to the top of the Championship in San Marino, the Brit having claimed ten points across the opening two rounds. That left him a point clear of Alain Prost in second, winner in Brazil, while Stefan Johansson had retained third after his second straight points finish. Behind, Ayrton Senna leapt into the top five ahead of Nelson Piquet, with ten drivers already on the score board. In the Constructors' Championship it was now who led the field, moving ahead of on the count-back rule. Likewise, had moved ahead of to claim third, level on seven but ahead on count-back, while dropped to fifth ahead of . Only point scoring drivers and constructors are shown. Jim Clark/Colin Chapman Trophy Philippe Streiff moved to the top of the Jim Clark Trophy standings in San Marino, opening a six point lead over teammate Jonathan Palmer. Pascal Fabre, meanwhile, would hang onto third ahead of Philippe Alliot, while maintained their lead in the Colin Chapman Trophy. Only point scoring drivers and constructors are shown. References Images and Videos: * References: Category:Grand Prix articles Category:Grand Prix articles Category:1987 Grands Prix Category:San Marino Grand Prix